January 2013 Relaxer Results!

Happy New Year to everyone!  I’ve been trying to write this post for the past week but the holidays were a rush of busyness for me and then I became deathly ill.  I felt like I’d knocked on the doorway to heaven but was told it wasn’t my time yet.  My fever was as high as 104!  Who gets sick like that with just a run of the mill bug at my age?  *raises hand * I do!!!  Right now I just have the normal runny nose and watery eyes, but the rest of me feels relatively normal.  Thank goodness!

Well, onto the good stuff!  My relaxer results!  I relaxed last week (Dec. 29) at 13 weeks post at the salon and per usual my stylist did an amazing job.  We used my staple relaxer – Optimum Care No-Lye Relaxer along with all of the components in the kit (except the whipped oil moisturizer) and the accompanying deep conditioning masque.  My hair felt SO soft afterwards, but my ends were a bit sparse so she trimmed about two inches (more on this in a minute)  At the moment my hair feels amazing and I can’t wait to see the state of it tomorrow when I wash and get a length check photo for the upcoming protective styling challenge.  Onto the photos!

Before my trim at BSL

I belatedly realized that we never get a photo of my hair combed straight down for the “before” photo whenever I give relaxer results from my salon touch ups.  Well, although you cannot see it – my hair did completely touch my bra strap.  I felt it and saw it.  But then I got a trim:

After my trim – APL again?

And it looks to me like I may be back to APL?!  I didn’t see anything in those trimmed ends that I needed to hold on to, but I do have to say my frequent trimming does seem to set back my length progress quite a bit.  One of the hazards of being relaxed bone straight I suppose.  Although I am not at all upset, this did spur a personal challenge.  I have a fresh trim and although it may not look it in these wet length shots, my hair is in great shape.  That is actually the reason I do wet length shots at the salon – to get a very accurate view of my ends against her white towel!  Since I am starting off the year with fresh ends and plan to protect my hair for three months followed by three months of rollersetting – I am wondering if I could get away with only 2 trims this year? In June and December?  I’m not going to call it a challenge because if I see that my hair needs a trim, I will certainly do it, but I would like to work on retaining as much as possible and keeping my ends in the best shape they can be.

Rollerset vertically for loose spiral curls

Anyway, as some of you saw on Instagram, after my trusted stylist relaxed and trimmed my hair she set it on red 1.5″ diameter sized magnetic rollers in a vertical pattern with my front bang molded down (the style was my idea).  The results were incredible!

With fresh curls

And they only got better as the day continued…

The curls by the end of the day.

I plan to do a rollerwrap this week so you can see the straight length dry – which to my eye is largely unchanged overall after my trim.  However my sides have grown back nicely after the cut in July and I am loving the look of my bang as it grows out.  Although I am doing a rollerwrap, it will be protect-protect-protect afterwards!